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During the momentary thaw we experienced two weeks ago, I took a walk through my neighborhood
and was reminded again how brutal winter can be.

We all need to take a good look around our houses as soon as the snow melts, because a harsh
winter is bound to take a toll on some parts.

I stopped to visit a neighbor, for example, and while waiting for someone to answer the door, I
noticed that two basement windows in the 1840s-era house were gone. They had fallen out of the old
wooden frame and into the basement.

That wasn’t good, given that 5 inches of snow was on the way. Luckily, one of the two panes of
glass was intact, and for the other, I had a replacement the right size on a shelf in my basement.
We got the window back together within a half-hour — and before snow, cold or critters could make
their way inside.

Much of what I saw during my recent walk involved gutters and downspouts. Ice dams, icicles and
heavy snow had beaten them down. Gutters sagged on one house. A hunk of gutter had fallen off
another. And at yet another, a piece of pipe whose job was to send water from a downspout away from
a house had fallen off.

That means water will drop from the roof to within inches of the foundation. And that probably
means that water will make its way into the homeowner’s basement.

Many basement water problems start with a failed gutter or downspout.

So as we (hopefully) head toward spring and the rain it will bring, take a few minutes to check
for potential problems.

Insurance matters

A friend recently told me about the challenges of recovering from water damage. She was among
thousands who faced broken pipes amid the recent deep freeze.

She came home after a weekend away to find water streaming from her condo and into the street
out front.

In the weeks since then, she said it has become an almost full-time job working with two
insurance companies — hers and one for the condo association — as well as with contractors who have
gutted her condo and are starting to restore it.

She said she has insurance that will replace everything with like materials, including her
possessions, but she said she is being asked for receipts to prove the value of each item to be
replaced.

A word to the wise, she said, is that we all should keep receipts for such occasions.

Motors galore

After writing last month about a 79-cent part that left a colleague’s garage door opener
inoperable — and mentioning that I had purchased several motors to keep my dehumidifier going for
20 years — a number of you asked where I bought the motors.

I found them at American Electric Motor Service, 900 Gray St., Columbus. The phone is
614-297-1600, and the company is online at www. americanelectric motorservice.com.

House doctors

The Ohio Historic Preservation Office’s Building Doctor program plans six clinics in 2014; the
first is this month in Sandusky.

The only clinic in central Ohio will be June 5-6 in Westerville. For details, visit
www.ohiohistory. org/ohio-historic- preservation-office/ building-doctor.

The “doctors” — who are experts in historic preservation — teach old-building owners how to
recognize and solve common problems in old buildings, and offer advice on upgrades.

Building Doctor clinics begin with a free seminar on topics such as peeling paint and failing
plaster, wet basements, deteriorating masonry, windows, wood issues, and the bringing of buildings
built before 1955 up to date without sacrificing historic integrity.

The next day, the doctors make house calls to some buildings within

5 miles of the city where the seminar is held. Their consultations are free but their time is
limited, so appointments are a must.

Alan D. Miller is a Dispatch managing editor who writes about old-house repair and historic
preservation.